The present invention relates to an adjustable shock-absorber mounting structure for holding a shock-absorber, and more particularly to such an adjustable shock-absorber mounting structure, which is safe in use and, can easily rapidly be installed with less effort.
FIG. 1 shows a shock-absorber mounting structure holding a shock absorber according to the prior art. This design of shock-absorber mounting structure comprises a bottom frame 111, the bottom frame 111 comprising two fixed holder blocks 120 and 130 at the top side thereof, an upright tube 140 mounted on the top side of the bottom frame 111 at the center between the fixed holder blocks 120 and 130, a screw rod 171 supported in the upright tube 140, a movable sleeve 152 mounted on the upright tube 140 and moved axially relative to the upright tube 140 upon rotation of the screw rod 171, the movable sleeve 152 having two lugs 151 disposed at two opposite sides at different elevations, and two U-shaped catch pawls D respectively fastened to the lugs 151, and two hydraulic cylinders 1 respectively installed in the holder blocks 120 and 130 (only one hydraulic cylinder is shown in FIG. 1). When in use, shock absorbers 101 are respectively mounted between the hydraulic cylinders 1 and the catch pawls D. By means of rotating the head 172 of the screw rod 171, the movable sleeve 152 is moved vertically along the upright tube 140 to compress/release the shock absorbers 101. The shock absorbers 101 commonly comprise a spring 4 or 6, a top end cap 5 fastened to one end of the spring 4 or 6 and a bottom end cap 2 fastened to the other end of the spring 4 or 6. This design of shock-absorbing mounting structure is not satisfactory in function. The drawbacks of this design of shock-absorbing mounting structure are numerous and outlined hereinafter.
1. When loosening the lock nut 7 of the shock absorber 101 in order to remove the shock absorber 101, the spring 4 or 6 may jump out of place suddenly, causing an accident. In order to eliminate this problem, the spring 4 or 6 must be positively held in place when loosening the lock nut 7.
2. Because the bottom end cap 2 of the shock absorber 101 is not positively secured in place, the shock absorber 101 tends to be erroneously twisted or forced out of place during installation.
3. The U-shaped catch pawls D cannot fit all kinds of shock absorbers. Because the springs of conventional shock absorbers have different diameters or shapes (see FIGS. 2A and 2B), the fixed size of the catch pawls D cannot fit different structures of shock absorbers.
4. When adjusting the elevation of the movable sleeve 152, a hand tool must be used to rotate the head 172 of the screw rod 171.
5. This design of shock-absorber mounting structure has no means for mounting on a support, for example, the wall, worktable, or any of a variety of equipment.
The invention has been accomplished to provide a shock-absorbing mounting structure, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the shock-absorber mounting structure comprises a base frame holding two parallel rails vertically, a top carrier and a bottom carrier moved along the parallel rails in the base frame, a screw rod rotated by a hand wheel to move the top carrier along the rails relative to the bottom carrier, a hydraulic system controlled to move the bottom carrier along the rails relative to the top carrier, and two shock-absorber holders respectively installed in the top carrier and the bottom carrier and adapted to hold a shock-absorber therebetween. According to another aspect of the present invention, the hydraulic system comprises a hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic cylinder having a reciprocating rod fixedly connected to the bottom carrier and adapted to move the bottom carrier along the rails relative to the top carrier, an oil pipe connected to the hydraulic cylinder for return flow of hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic cylinder, a relief valve installed in the oil pipe for release of air from the oil pipe, and a hand pump adapted to pump hydraulic fluid out of the oil pipe to the hydraulic cylinder to lift the reciprocating rod. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the shock-absorber holders are replaceable, and different structures of shock-absorber holders can be used to fit different shock-absorbers. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the base frame has a back mounting board adapted for fastening to a support.